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The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations, acting as a coordinating authority on international public health, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Historically, WHO inherited much of the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization (HO), which had been an agency of the League of Nations. The WHO was established by the UN on April 7, 1948. The current Acting Director-General is Anders Nordström, following the sudden death of Lee Jong-wook.
Mission
WHO's constitution states that its mission "is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health". Its major task is to combat disease, especially key infectious diseases, and to promote the general health of the peoples of the world. As well as coordinating international efforts to monitor outbreaks of infectious disease such as SARS, malaria, and AIDS, it also has programmes to combat such diseases, by developing and distributing vaccines. After years of fighting smallpox, WHO declared in 1979 that the disease had been eradicated - the first disease in history to be completely eliminated by deliberate human design. WHO is nearing success in developing vaccines against malaria and schistosomiasis and aims to eradicate polio within the next few years.
WHO also compiles the widely followed International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The tenth revision of the ICD was released in 1992 and a searchable version is available online on the WHO website, although it is not comprehensive. Later revisions are indexed and available in hardcopy versions. The WHO does not permit simultaneous classification in two separate areas.
More on [ World Health Organization ]
World Health Organization (WHO) - Develops international guidelines for health management, analyses the spread of disease, and coordinates international health programs
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Healthy Cities Conference Belfast October 2003 - World Health Organization conference on October 19-22, 2003. Includes information on travel, registration and Belfast tourism as well as an FAQ.
Meta Description: [ Healthy Cities Conference 19-22 October 2003, Waterfront Hall Belfast, Northern Ireland ]
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Coordinates research on the causes of human cancer and develops scientific strategies for cancer control.
Meta Description: [ Standard Description, International Agency for Research on Cancer. ]
Pac Elf - Elimination Of Lymphatic Filariasis in the South Pacific - Dedicated to eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis in the Pacific by the year 2010.
Meta Description: [ World Health Organization-A regional collaborative approach in eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis by the year 2010. The first attempt at the elimination of a vector borne disease elephantiasis in a regional area. ]
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) - International public health organization with myriad resources and information on health in the Americas. Serves as a regional office of WHO.
UMC - Uppsala Monitoring Centre - A WHO collaborating center for international drug monitoring, located in Uppsala, Sweden.
WHO Eastern Mediterranean - Regional office. Country profiles, health statistics, and other information services.
WHO Europe - Public health assistance and development in East and West Europe. Health statistics and highlights of the health situation in each European state. Serves as a regional office of WHO.
WHO KOBE Centre - International and interdisciplinary investigations of issues relating to global health and welfare systems development.
Meta Description: [ WHO centre for health development, healthy urbanization, Knowledge networks on urban settings, Health equity, WHO Kobe centre, Social determinants of health, cities and health, health impact assesment, urbanization and health equity ]
